


The Story of Tonight

by evelinaonline



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Beantacles, Ben Hargreeves Needs A Midnight Snack, Family Bonding, Gen, Good Brother Ben Hargreeves, Good Brother Klaus Hargreeves, No Incest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:48:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23647987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evelinaonline/pseuds/evelinaonline
Summary: The first thing Ben realised when he woke up in the middle of the night was that he was hungry.
Relationships: Ben Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves
Comments: 12
Kudos: 97





	The Story of Tonight

**Author's Note:**

> (It took all of my will-power not to put "me and the boys at 2am looking for bEANS" as a summary. Please give me credit for the effort.)
> 
> Huge thanks to my beta Jena ([bookworm5546](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookworm5546/pseuds/bookworm5546)).
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

The first thing Ben realised when he woke up in the middle of the night was that he was hungry.

It wasn't anything out of the ordinary. They went out for missions in the morning, and more than often Ben was forced to call upon the creature in his stomach. The things he saw—bodies being torn apart, people screaming for help, begging for mercy—the things he _did,_ they weren't much help when it came to his appetite.

So yes, when his dreams filled up with the faces of the people he'd killed in cold blood, and was forced to wake up with an empty stomach, sometimes he was hungry.

Usually he'd fight the urge to get up and grab a midnight snack—though it'd become more of a three-in-the-freaking-morning snack by that point—but on that night, he couldn't help himself. Even _They_ seemed to be hungry.

Ben yawned and pushed his bed covers off him, instantly hit with a wave of cold. He bit his lip and grabbed a jacket from the closet, zipping it all the way up. He'd manage to win the fight against the cold, but that was only the beginning. He still needed to get downstairs without anyone hearing him.

He tiptoed to the door, pushing it open just enough so that he could take a peek outside; nothing but darkness. He couldn't even see any light coming from underneath Five's door. Ben sighed in relief and slipped out of his room, making it to the stairs.

He sat on the floor before the first step and made his way down that way—it was way less noisy than walking, and if anyone caught him, he could just say he tripped on his way to the bathroom—until he reached the floor below, where his other siblings slept. The idea of checking on them, at least on Vanya, seemed tempting, but he couldn't risk it.

Another floor down, which meant there was only one staircase left to the kitchen. Ben didn't have time to waste. The smallest mistake could alert Pogo or Mom, or even Dad himself, if he was up late doing paperwork.

Ben couldn't go down this pair of stairs sitting down; it was the most noisy staircase in the entire house and he knew exactly where and how loudly it creaked. Once he went past them, his troubles would be over.

At last, the kitchen.

He was so eager to grab something, _anything,_ to eat, that he almost didn't notice Number Four sitting cross-legged in the middle of the table. If Ben didn't know any better, he would have thought he was performing some sort of ritual with all the lights turned off and everything.

"Klaus!" he yelled-whispered, taking a few steps closer to him. "What are you _doing?"_ He almost asked him if he woke up because of a ghost again, but decided against it.

"I've been waiting for you, brother of mine," Klaus said in what Ben supposed was his best impression of a monk.

Ben sighed and shook his head. So they were playing that game again, of pretending everything was okay.

Whatever. Ben wasn't in the mood for a chat anyway. He just wanted to eat something and go back to his bed as soon as possible.

"Any midnight snack suggestions?" Ben asked in hopes to get Klaus' head off things, starting to go through the cupboards.

"Weed?"

Ben didn't even bother responding to that one. "We're almost out everything," he said. Of course he was out looking for food one night before grocery day. Just his luck. "All I can find are spices and herbs and stuff."

"That's exactly what I'm talking about," Klaus said, and this time Ben turned around to shoot him a glare. "Can't you just settle on cereal or something?"

He really should have. "Too hungry for just cereal," he said. His stomach was starting to rumble again. "I'm looking for something more…"

A red can in the back of the cupboard caught Ben's attention. They rarely kept canned foods in the house—Mom always cooked things herself—so this had ought to be good. He stretched his hand to reach for it, and once it was finally in his hands, he squinted his eyes to read the label; _Baked Beans._

"So?" Klaus asked, clearly taking an interest in Ben's discovery.

Ben didn't know why he grinned when he turned the can around to show Klaus. His brother leaned forward, clearly struggling to read in the dark. "You're having beans in the middle of the night?"

He shrugged. "Why not?"

"Is this your version of a teenage rebellion?" Klaus asked, a smile visible in his voice. "I must say, I'm kinda excited."

"Shut up and help me find the can opener."

It didn't take them long to get the beans open. Klaus insisted on eating them straight out of the can—as if he would ever let him have some of his belated dinner—but Ben decided to rinse them with water first, just in case.

Klaus made himself useful by bringing over some of these spices that Ben had found before, as well as a plate, and a couple minutes later, they had a plate of baked beans set on the table.

"So…" Klaus said. "Aren't you going to try it, chef?"

Ben didn't waste another second; he picked up a few beans with his spoon and put them in his mouth.

They were the most delicious thing Ben had ever tasted.

Okay, perhaps he was being a bit dramatic. They were definitely not better than Mom's, but they were good, and Ben's near-starvation experience made everything sound appetizing.

It was then that he realised Klaus was looking at him like he was some sort of science experiment. "Well?"

"I'll let you try some if you tell me why you're up?" Ben asked, making a final attempt at finding out what was wrong.

Klaus sighed. "Let's just say I wasn't alone in my room." So it _was_ because of the ghosts, as suspected. Ben tried not to make a big deal out of it, so he pushed the plate to Klaus' direction instead, and waited for a reaction. "… It's surprisingly not horrible."

"How kind of you." Ben rolled his eyes and Klaus winked at him.

They spent the rest of the night throwing comments like that back and forth, until they both struggled to contain their giggles. All Ben could think of when he was back in bed was how they could get their hands on some more beans to do it all over again.

Not even his stomach could argue.

**Author's Note:**

> *takes deep breath*  
>  _rAISE A CAN TO FREEDOM  
>  SOMETHING THEY CAN NEVER TAKE AWAY  
> NO MATTER WHAT THEY TELL YOU— _
> 
> Anyway yes, Hamilton is about beans now.


End file.
